Ronan Darcy and Ollie Turton’s own goal secured an impressive 2-0 win for Chesterfield against Salford City.
The victory means that the Spireites are once again in the play-off places as they climb up to sixth, leapfrogging Salford.
Paul Cook made seven changes from Tuesday night’s side that beat Burton Albion 1-0 in the Vertu Trophy.
Only Tom Naylor, Kyle McFadzean, Vontae Daley-Campbell, and Dilan Markanday retained their place for today’s game.
It was a full-blooded start to the contest, with both sides keen to assert their authority in the opening phases.
After only eight minutes, the referee had already issued two yellow cards, one to Naylor and the other to Paul Cook on the touchline, much to the dismay of the home crowd.
The crowd were again vocal in their appeals when Lee Bonis looked to be taken out when through on goal, which the referee waved away.
Once the game settled into a rhythm, it was the Spireites who enjoyed most of the possession, though without creating any chance of note.
Markanday enjoyed sustained success on the right-hand side with his tricky dribbling.
But the winger’s final delivery was repeatedly dealt with by the Salford rearguard.
Kallum Cesay managed to beat Ryan Stirk with some twisting and turning, though his cross couldn’t find a white shirt.
After the break, Markanday’s cross was fumbled by Mark Howard, but neither Bonis nor Naylor could hit the target with their efforts.
In what was Salford’s first attack of the half, Kadeem Harris’ sweetly struck effort whistled over the bar.
Chesterfield then went down the other end and opened the scoring in the 62nd minute.
Liam Mandeville’s deep corner was met with a tremendous leap from Dunkley, and his header ricocheted into the net off the back of Salford defender, Turton.
The visitors looked for an instant response with a flurry of balls into the area, though none troubled the Chesterfield backline.
Salford again stepped up their intensity in search of an equaliser, this time through Daniel Odoh.
However, Hemming did excellently to tip his effort onto the post.
Dunkley produced a heroic sliding block 10 minutes from the end as Salford looked destined to have a clear sight of goal.
And with seven minutes to play, the Spireites put the game beyond doubt and made it 2-0.
Howard failed to deal with James Berry’s cross, and at the second time of asking, Darcy rifled home from close range.
As the game headed into stoppage time, Salford threw everyone forward, but Chesterfield again stood firm to earn all three points.
Chesterfield: Hemming, Daley-Campbell, McFadzean, Dunkley, Gordon, Stirk, Naylor, Markanday, Mandeville (Berry 68), Dobra (Darcy 68), Bonis (Dickson 89)
Attendance: 7,962
